BLOOMINGTON - Small town mayors in Central Illinois weighed in Thursday on the vice presidential debate - with some wide differences of opinion on who came out on top.

Clinton Mayor Ed Wollet said U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., "pretty much stole the show."

"He's been a national figure for years," Wollet said. "This is his territory. He was more comfortable, answered questions more directly and more fully. He had more facts."

On the other hand, he said, "I don't think Sarah Palin faded, melted."

Pontiac Mayor Scott McCoy said he was so happy and excited about how well Republican Alaska Gov. Palin handled the debate, he wasn't sure if he'd get a good night's sleep.

"She talks like I talk - like my neighbors talk. Biden is a typical politician," he said.

Palin did so well during the debate, McCoy said, because Biden "wasn't talking to a politician. He was talking to a person."

He said she held her own well during the 1½-hour debate.

Delavan Mayor Liz Skinner said Palin's experience as small-town mayor and governor resonates with voters, and Palin drew on that during the debate.

"In a small town, you have to be self-reliant," she said, noting small-town mayors don't have big staffs to support them.

"I think she did very well. She was up against a very experienced politician," Skinner said.

Wollet said the debate wouldn't change the minds of people who have already made up their minds, but perhaps it helped some undecided voters.

"They are going to be the swing vote," said Wollet. "We'll have to see Nov. 4."